


you're the only friend I need (laughing 'til our ribs get tough)

by CanaryWarrior



Category: Stargirl (TV 2020)
Genre: F/M, Gen, Protective Rick Tyler, Rick really wants to punch Henry, beth yolanda and rick become friends prior to the show, tw: child abuse, ultimate friendship trio
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-08-09
Updated: 2020-08-24
Packaged: 2021-03-05 23:54:39
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 8,337
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25793974
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CanaryWarrior/pseuds/CanaryWarrior
Summary: Yolanda's life was ruined. She lost her popularity, her friends, her family hated her, and she was forced to sit at the losers table. But a twist of fate allows her to make unlikely friends in the resident ray of sunshine Beth Chapel and the town delinquent Rick Tyler.Or, Yolanda, Beth, and Rick become friends before Courtney moves to Blue Valley.
Relationships: Beth Chapel & Henry King Jr., Beth Chapel & Rick Tyler, Beth Chapel & Yolanda Montez, Beth Chapel & Yolanda Montez & Rick Tyler, Henry King Jr. & Yolanda Montez, Yolanda Montez & Rick Tyler
Comments: 18
Kudos: 61





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This idea was born in the Hournite discord where we talked about Beth, Yolanda, and Rick becoming friends. I hope you all enjoy it, and shoutout to my lovely friends in the discord!

A week has passed since that fateful day, the day Yolanda’s life was ruined. The guy she loved and trusted spread a photo of her that she sent to him. Her reputation was ruined, she lost all her friends, and everyone constantly called her a ‘slut’ or said something horrible to her. Her family had shunned her, all except her brother, Alex. Her mother took her phone from her and grounded her indefinitely. Now, she was a bullied loner with nothing.

Yolanda started sitting at the table designated for the ‘losers.’ She was the third occupant, along with Beth Chapel and Rick Harris. Beth seemed nice enough, but she constantly talked to her parents on the phone during lunch. Personally, Yolanda thought that Beth could have a far better high school experience and even be semi-popular if she made friends who weren’t her parents.

Rick Harris, on the other hand, was the complete opposite. He was silent, and Yolanda could see a constant hint of anger in his eyes. He was stoic and guarded, and had a clear disregard for school. With that kind of attitude, plus the leather jacket he always wore, she could understand why so many people were intimidated by him.

As different as Beth and Rick were, they had two things in common: they never judged or bullied Yolanda, and people usually didn’t bully them. The latter wasn’t surprising, Beth was known to be a very sweet girl, so of course no one would have any reason to bully her. Rick clearly scared a lot of people, so he was in the clear as well. 

So here she was now, sitting at her new lunch table. Rick seemed to be lost in his own thoughts, while Beth was listening to music and using her phone. Damn, Yolanda really missed her phone. She picked at her food when Henry and two of his football friends walked up to the table.

“Hey, slut,” a blonde football player greeted cruelly. “Are there any more photos we can expect to see?”

Yolanda kept her head down and continued picking at her food. She figured it would be better if she didn’t respond. She didn’t want to risk giving anyone anymore ammo than she already has. It was one of the main reasons why she walked with her head down and stopped talking to people entirely.

“Hey, he’s talking to you,” Henry, her ex-boyfriend who caused her so much pain, said.

“Yeah, answer the question, you bit-”

“Leave her alone!” Beth exclaimed, to everyone’s surprise. “Why are you being so mean to her?”

Yolanda stared at Beth with shock. No one has ever stood up for her before. It was touching, but Yolanda didn’t want the bullies to go after a kind girl like Beth.

“None of your business,” Henry responded to Beth, who once upon a time was his best friend.

“What is wrong with you people? Why are you so determined to hurt her? She hasn’t done anything to you,” Beth continued to defend her classmate.

The third brunette football player turned to Beth. “Shut up, you little-”

“Hey!” Yolanda snapped. “Don’t talk to her like that!” Yolanda herself was surprised at her sudden actions. It was the most she had spoken that week. She shook off her hesitant thoughts and glared straight at the football player, feeling empowered. 

The blonde bully moved his face closer to Yolanda as he said “And what are you going to do about it, slut?”

Before Yolanda could even think of a comeback, Rick Harris stood up from his seat and approached the blonde football player. Yolanda and Beth stood up in surprise as the town delinquent’s fist met the football player’s face, knocking the latter to the ground.

Yolanda gasped as the boy hit the ground and watched as Henry and his other friend turned to Rick in anger.

“You’ll pay for that, Harris!” The brown haired athlete growled.

“No, I don’t think so,” Beth noted casually before taking her almost full cup of water and throwing its contents in his face. 

Henry’s friend spluttered and rubbed the water out of his eyes before taking a step toward Beth. Before Beth or Rick could move, Yolanda instinctively blocked the athlete’s path and pushed him to the ground. 

Beth turned to Henry, who used to be her best friend, who used to be a kind and caring boy. “Leave us alone.”

Henry’s eyes were filled with strong emotion as he looked at his former friend and walked away with his friends who made their way off the ground.

Everyone in the cafeteria had been captivated by the show, but now that it was over, they slowly returned to their conversations, ignoring the three ‘losers.’

Yolanda turned to Beth and Rick. “You guys didn’t have to do that,” she said quietly.

“It was the right thing to do,” Beth said softly, eyes filled with compassion for her classmate. 

Rick shrugged. “Those guys are jerks.” It was the first full sentence Yolanda heard Rick say since she started sitting with them.

“Excuse me, Ms. Chapel, Ms. Montez, and Mr. Harris,” Principal Bowin walked toward their table, looking as impeccable as ever. “I hope you know you have detention today after school.”

“But it wasn’t their fault-” Yolanda tried to defend Beth and Rick, who didn’t deserve to get in trouble because they were defending her against a few neanderthals. 

“Detention, after school. Be there, or you’ll have detention for a week,” Bowin said swiftly before exiting the cafeteria.

Yolanda sighed as she, Beth, and Rick sat back down. “I’m sorry, you two shouldn’t have gotten in trouble.”

Rick waved it off. “I’m always in detention, it’s no big deal.” 

“I’ve never gotten in trouble before,” Beth said, which made Yolanda feel even worse. “But it was definitely worth it.” She smiled reassuringly at Yolanda, who managed a small smile back.

“Well, thank you, seriously, no one has ever stood up for me before.” Yolanda meant every word.

Beth smiled at her while Rick nodded. “So, what do people do in detention?” Beth asked curiously.

Yolanda shrugged. “I’m not sure, I’ve never gotten detention before, either.”

The two girls looked at Rick for an answer. He sighed and said “Nothing much, you just sit at a desk for two hours and think about what you did and whatnot.”

“If I think about what I did, I would probably start laughing, which would make me get into more trouble,” Beth said thoughtfully, causing Yolanda to burst out laughing.

“Okay, that is the first time I’ve laughed in while,” Yolanda chuckled. “I can’t believe you threw your drink in that guy’s face!”

“Neither can I,” Rick added, completely surprised that Beth Chapel, resident ray of sunshine, would do something like that.

“I don’t know what came over me,” she admitted before turning to Rick. “I can’t believe you punched that guy, too.”

“He was getting on my nerves,” Rick said casually. “I didn’t expect you to push that guy to the ground,” he said to Yolanda.

“Honestly it felt pretty good,” Yolanda admitted, before remembering something. “I wonder why Henry decided to leave when Beth told him to?” She and Rick turned to Beth, curious.

Beth sighed. “I think he listened to me because we used to be best friends.”

“Wait, what?!” Yolanda exclaimed.

“Seriously? You, Beth Chapel, was best friends with Henry King?” Rick questioned incredulously.

“But you’re so sweet and he’s…” Yolanda trailed off.

“An asshole? A complete jerk?” Rick suggested.

“Yeah, exactly.”

“He wasn’t always like that,” Beth noted. “He used to be really sweet. We used to be really close. And then high school began and everything changed. He became popular and stopped talking to me,” Beth finished with a sad glint in her eye, which both Yolanda and Rick noticed.

Unsure of what to say, plus feeling more anger toward Henry, Yolanda simply said “I’m sorry.”

“I’m sorry he hurt you,” Beth said to Yolanda, who smiled in thanks.

Rick shifted uncomfortably in his seat, clearly not used to emotionally driven conversations. “I’m sorry he hurt both of you,” he tried. “Neither of you deserved that.” Rick’s blood boiled. Henry King Jr paraded around the halls acting like he was so great when in reality, he hurt two girls? Two genuinely good people? “I wish I had punched Henry instead.”

Yolanda and Beth chuckled at Rick’s words, touched that he was willing to do something like that for them. “As much as I would love to see Henry get punched in the face, it’s not worth you getting in trouble again,” Yolanda stated. 

Rick shrugged. “I don’t mind, chances are I’ll have fifty detentions this year, what’s one more?”

“You should really try to stay out of trouble,” Beth suggested.

“Maybe,” was Rick’s short, curt answer.

The three fell into a silence until Beth spoke. “I think this is the first time we all spoke to each other.”

“Yeah, it is,” Yolanda agreed.

“And all it took was kicking some football players’ asses,” Rick commented.

Yolanda’s eyes widened, the gravity of the situation finally hitting her. “Oh my god, oh, god…” she moaned, placing her head on the table.

“What is it?” Beth asked in concern.

“My parents are going to kill me,” Yolanda’s muffled voice said. She lifted her head up. “They were so angry about the picture…and now I have detention for pushing someone to the ground!”

“What did your parents do?” Rick asked in a slightly gentler tone than his normal voice.

“They grounded me for life and took my phone. They hardly speak to me… they can barely look at me…”

“Well it sounds like there isn’t more for them to do,” Rick pointed out.

Beth nodded. “Rick’s right. What else can your parents do to you?”

Yolanda wracked her brain but couldn’t come up with anything. Huh, she really had nothing more to lose. “I guess nothing.”

“Hey,” Beth said softly. “If things get too hard with your family, you can stay with me. My parents won’t notice, they’re hardly home nowadays” she offered.

“Really?”

“Yeah, really.”

Yolanda gave Beth a smile. “Thanks, but my parents won’t let me out of the house for anything other than school. They don’t even let me go to church anymore.”

“So, sneak out,” Rick suggested. “You can pack a bag, sneak out of your window, and go to Beth’s.”

“Yeah, maybe that could work.” Yolanda was not expecting Beth to offer her a place to stay and Rick advising her on how to sneak out of her house when she woke up this morning. “Thanks.”

After a few more moments of silence, Yolanda spoke again. “So, um… are we...friends, now?”

“We all got detention together and I just offered to let you live with me, so yeah, I think so,” Beth replied with a bright smile, which Yolanda returned. The two girls looked expectantly at Rick.

Rick was not the type of person who had friends. But he looked at the two girls sitting at the table and realized that not even he, the town delinquent, had the heart to say no. “I punched a guy for you, offered to punch that ass Henry for what he did to both of you, and got detention with you two.”

“Soooo yes?” Beth asked hopefully.

“Yes,” Rick grumbled, causing Beth and Yolanda to laugh. Both girls exchanged a look, vowing to try their best to make Rick smile and/or break down some of the walls he built around himself and his heart. 

Soon enough, the bell rang. 

“I’ll see you guys later,” Yolanda said.

“See ya!”

“Later.”

The three new friends went their separate ways, all three in a better mood than they were at the beginning of the lunch period.

~~~~~

Time flew by and soon enough, the school day ended, except for those unlucky souls with detention. Beth and Yolanda shared their last class together and walked over to the designated detention room together, where they saw Rick already sitting in a seat. The two girls went to sit near him. 

“Welcome to your first detention,” Rick greeted his two new friends as they took their seats. A few more students entered before the gray haired teacher spoke.

“For the next two hours, I hope you will all think long and hard about your actions. You have two hours, and your parents and guardians have all been notified of your behavior.”

“Mine is probably too drunk to care,” Rick mumbled.

“Mine probably didn’t even answer the phone,” Beth whispered.

“Mine are probably praying for my soul,” Yolanda said quietly to her friends, earning a giggle from Beth and an amused smirk from Rick. “So are we supposed to sit here quietly for two hours?”

“You can if you want, but usually you can get away with talking or using your phone. Mr. Smith doesn’t notice it most of the time,” Rick explained, since he was the reigning expert on detention.

“Well I don’t have a phone, so quiet conversation it is,” Yolanda declared.

“You can always borrow mine if you want,” Beth offered.

“Thanks Beth, I’ll definitely keep that in mind,” Yolanda expressed.

“So what do  _ you _ usually do here, Rick?” Beth asked curiously.

“Usually I just stare out the window or take a nap. Sometimes I catch up on my homework when I have to.”

“So what do you two like to do for fun?” Yolanda asked curiously.

“I like to cook and bake. And I love murder mysteries. Books, movies, shows, everything about it,” Beth revealed, thinking back to when she would do all of those things with Henry when they were friends.

Rick raised his eyebrows in surprise, he didn’t expect Beth to be interested in something as morbid and violent as murder mysteries. “That’s cool,” he admitted. “I work on cars. Well, one car at the moment.”

“That’s really cool too,” Yolanda acknowledged with Beth nodding. “I like to box.”

“That’s interesting,” Rick commented. “Does that mean you’re good at punching people?”

Yolanda chuckled. “Yeah, I guess. Maybe I should’ve punched one of those guys in the face.”

“I don’t know how to punch someone,” Beth admitted.

“Really?” Yolanda asked, incredulously.

“That’s not surprising, Beth’s the least violent person at this school, probably in this whole town,” Rick insisted, causing Beth to smile.

“Thanks!”

“I’ll teach you how to throw a punch,” Yolanda decided. “And I can show you some other fight moves too!”

“Maybe then you both can punch Henry,” Rick noted thoughtfully. He really wanted to see that ginger jerk get a taste of his own medicine, even just a little bit.

Beth giggled. “Thanks. Oh, I can teach the two of you to cook! And bake!”

“Oh, the last time I tried to cook something, it didn’t end well,” Yolanda recalled the mess of pasta she made one time. 

“Well this time, I’ll be there!”

“Okay, deal!” Yolanda and Beth turned to Rick.

“What?”

“I’m going to teach you how to cook,” Beth declared.

“No-” Rick started, but stopped when he saw both Beth and Yolanda looking at him with wide, innocent, and expectant eyes. He sighed, wondering what the hell he got himself into with these two girls, and said “Okay.”

The three continued to chat until detention was over. They left together and decided to walk with each other.

Yolanda sighed. “I really don’t want to go home.”

“So don’t, we can go somewhere else,” Beth suggested while Rick nodded in agreement.

“I’m in no rush to get home, either,” Rick agreed.

“There’s a diner nearby, do you wanna get some coffee?” Beth asked.

“That sounds amazing, actually,” Yolanda sighed, thinking about how she was unable to go anywhere besides school. What would her parents do, anyway? “Sure, I’m in.”

“Same,” Rick agreed.

And so the trio of outcasts went to the town’s diner, where they opened up to each other and learned more about one another. It was certainly the start of an epic friendship.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Henry tries to talk to Beth and Yolanda. Rick is not pleased.

Beth approached her locker during the beginning of the school day, before first period started. She was grabbing the books she needed before she was interrupted.

“Beth,” Henry approached the brunette’s locker, almost nervously. 

Beth could see uncertainty in his posture and something akin to regret and sadness in his eyes. But why would Henry feel those things? He hasn't spoken to her since the first week of high school, where he quickly rose up the popularity ranks and abandoned the best friend who was there for him during some of the toughest moments of his life. Henry hasn’t approached her since, so why the sudden change of heart? Was it because of what happened during that memorable lunch period?

“Henry,” Beth greeted politely. “Why are you talking to me now?”

Henry winced at the question. He knew he didn’t deserve the polite tone Beth used, but was glad that she was still the sweet, thoughtful girl he knew. “Listen, Beth-”

“Leave her alone,” Rick growled, appearing from seemingly out of nowhere. He had been walking the halls when he saw that redheaded bastard approach Beth. Feelings of protectiveness and anger bubbled up in him at the sight and he immediately marched over to them. He wasn’t going to let Henry hurt his friend again.

“Rick!” Beth exclaimed, smiling when she saw her friend approach.

Henry glared at the taller boy. “Listen, Harris-”

“I said leave her alone.”

“This is between me and Beth.”

“Last time I checked,  _ you _ made the dumb decision to stop being her friend, not me. Now leave before I knock you on your ass the same way I did with your friend that day,” Rick threatened.

Beth looked between the two boys, surprised that this was even happening. It looked like they were going to start a fight right there in the middle of the hall, so she pushed herself in between them and placed her hands up. 

“Okay, let’s just calm down,” Beth tried to defuse the situation. “Henry, I think you should go.”

“Beth-” Henry started, a pleading look in his eyes.

“She said to go,” Rick snapped. He watched as Henry took one more look at Beth before walking away. He turned to his friend. “Are you okay? Did he say anything?”

“Yeah, I’m fine. And no, he just wanted to talk to me but then you showed up,” Beth explained, resuming her task of packing her books. “You didn’t have to do that.”

Rick shrugged. “You’re my friend and I didn’t want to see Henry hurt you again.”

Beth smiled at his words. Who knew Rick Harris had a sweet side to him? “That’s really nice, Rick, thanks. I guess deep down, you’re just a softie,” she teased.

Rick rolled his eyes, exasperated. Knowing that he wouldn’t win an argument with Beth, he noted “Maybe, but no one will ever believe you. Thus leaving my reputation intact.”

“Yolanda would believe me,” Beth pointed out.

“Okay, then in that case, no one will ever believe you and Yolanda. My reputation is still intact.”

“Your reputation changed the moment you decided to become friends with the social pariah and the resident ray of sunshine,” Yolanda said smoothly, walking up to her friends. “What’s going on?”

“Rick is a softie deep down and refuses to acknowledge it,” Beth offered, prompting a laugh from Yolanda.

“That is true,” Yolanda agreed.

“And he almost started a fight with Henry.”

Yolanda turned to Rick, shock evident on her face. “You what?! Why?”

“I saw him talking to Beth and I told him to leave her alone or else I would punch him,” Rick explained.

“Why did Henry want to talk to you? Did he say anything to you?” Yolanda asked, worried.

“No, he didn’t get the chance to say anything because Rick came and scared him off,” Beth said with a pointed look to him.

“Hey, I wasn’t going to let him hurt you again,” Rick protested.

Yolanda smiled. “Awww, look at you being all protective. Your reputation is definitely not intact anymore!”

“That’s really sweet, Rick, thank you.” Beth wrapped her arms around Rick, who froze at the sudden contact. He bent down slightly and hugged her back. After pulling apart, Beth teased “ _ Now _ your reputation is probably mostly changed.”

Rick grumbled. “You two are gonna be the death of me, I know it.” 

“Yeah, yeah,” Yolanda waved her grumpy friend off before turning serious. “If Henry tries messing with you, tell me, okay?”

Beth nodded. “Okay, that goes for you too, Yolanda.”

“Just let me know when I can punch him,” Rick said, eliciting laughs from Beth and Yolanda.

“Okay, we should head to class. I’ll see you two at lunch,” Yolanda waved as she left. 

Beth and Rick exchanged a quick “See you later” before going their separate ways.

~~~~~

Before going to the cafeteria, Yolanda had to stop by her locker to switch out some of her books. She was distracted with getting her books out and she didn’t notice Henry approaching her locker.

“Hey,” Henry started. Yolanda looked up in surprise and glared at the redhead.

“Don’t talk to me.”

“Listen, please-”

“Are you fucking kidding me, King? Twice in one day?” Rick stormed up to the football player after seeing him approach Yolanda. “Leave my friends alone. You’ve done enough damage, now back off.”

Henry glared at Rick. “This is none of your business, Harris.”

“You’re the last person who should be saying that phrase, King.”

Before Henry could respond, Yolanda tugged Rick’s jacket. “Come on, Rick, let’s go, Beth is waiting for us.”

Rick glared daggers at Henry. “Leave Beth and Yolanda alone,” he threatened before walking with Yolanda to the cafeteria.

“You didn’t have to do that,” Yolanda echoed Beth’s previous words to Rick.

“He shouldn’t be talking to you two, after everything he did,” Rick said firmly. 

Yolanda smiled at Rick’s protectiveness. “Thank you, seriously.”

Rick shrugged as they entered the cafeteria. “Hey, Beth,” he greeted as he sat down.

“Hey, guys,” Beth smiled.

“Hey, guess what?” Yolanda grinned. “Rick’s reputation was broken down yet again!”

Ignoring Rick’s groan, Beth moved closer to Yolanda. “How so?”

“Henry approached me by my locker, and Rick told him to leave me alone,” Yolanda explained.

“Did he say anything to you?” Beth asked in concern.

“No, he didn’t get the chance to. Rick showed up before Henry could say what he wanted to say.”

“Aww, Rick, you care about us,” Beth teased. Both she and Yolanda enjoyed watching the tips of Rick’s ears burn red.

“I admit nothing.”

Beth and Yolanda laughed. The latter then spoke “I wonder why Henry wanted to talk to us.”

“Yeah, me too. I assumed that he would want to talk about what happened that day during lunch, but I feel like there was more to it. He had this look in his eyes… they were filled with sadness and regret,” Beth recalled softly. “I don’t know, maybe I should’ve given him a chance…”

“No way,” Yolanda expressed. “He hurt you! He hurt both of us, we don’t owe him anything.”

“Yolanda’s right, Beth. I know that being super nice is your thing, and that’s great, but Henry doesn’t deserve your kindness,” Rick said firmly.

“I know that,” Beth sighed. “Do you think he’ll try to talk to us again?” She asked Yolanda, curiously.

Yolanda shrugged. “Who knows.”

“He better not,” Rick mumbled angrily, feeling a surge of protectiveness toward his two friends. Dammit, they really were making him soft. 

“Yeah, who knows if our knight in shining armor here will be there to assist,” Yolanda teased.

“He’s more like a knight in a shining leather jacket,” Beth acknowledged thoughtfully. 

“I hate you both,” Rick said without any venom.

“No you don’t,” Yolanda pointed out while Beth nodded in agreement. 

Rick sighed but participated in conversation with his friends. Luckily, they didn’t have any more encounters with Henry that day, which was spent teasing Rick about his deteriorating reputation.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Beth and Rick tag along to Yolanda's doctor appointment.

“Hey, you two didn’t have to come!” Yolanda insisted as she sat next to Beth and Rick in the waiting room of her doctor’s office. She mentioned that she had a doctor’s appointment to do her annual physical and her parents were too ashamed to be seen with her, so she had to go by herself. Beth and Rick insisted on coming along to keep her company. 

“We didn’t want you to be alone,” Beth reasoned while Rick nodded.

Yolanda smiled, touched that she had two friends who cared fiercely about her. “Well, thanks.”

“Yolanda Montez!” The doctor called. 

“Want us to go with you or wait here?” Rick questioned.

“Uh, can you come with me?” Yolanda responded. Deep down, she always liked to be with someone when she was at the doctor’s office. Beth and Rick nodded and followed her into the assigned room.

“Hello, Yolanda,” Dr. Smith greeted. “How are you feeling overall? Any complaints? Any pain?”

“No,” Yolanda replied politely as she climbed onto the cushioned examination table.

“Wonderful, I’ll just check your pressure, temperature, and weight. Then I’ll draw some blood. Did you eat before coming here?”

“No, I didn’t.” Yolanda knew that before a blood test, she couldn’t eat anything prior. 

Dr. Smith then checked her vitals and her weight, all of which were healthy. She then got out a needle and a tube to draw Yolanda’s blood. She swabbed her arm with alcohol before tying the blue rubber on her upper arm. She tapped the inside of Yolanda’s elbow, trying to find a vein.

“Did you drink any water this morning?” Dr. Smith questioned.

“A little,” Yolanda admitted.

“Okay, I found the vein.” Dr. Smith moved the needle into Yolanda’s arm, watching the very slow flow of blood. “You should’ve drank more water, the flow is really slow.”

Yolanda’s head began to spin and she saw black spots in her vision. “Rick, can you get me some water?”

“Yeah,” Rick hurried out of the room to get her a cup of water from the water dispenser outside the room. He came back very quickly, handing the cup to Yolanda who drank it very fast. She gave the empty cup to her leather jacket wearing friend.

However, the water didn’t help, and Yolanda’s vision was obscured with even more dark spots.

“Are you dizzy?” Dr. Smith asked, observing the still slow flow of blood.

“Yeah,” Yolanda slightly slurred. Her head spun faster and she could hardly see anything other than dark spots. She fought hard to stay awake. She hardly heard Dr. Smith say that she was finished and didn’t even feel her take the needle out. Beth’s worried voice sounded like it was a million miles away. Yolanda’s eyes rolled to the back of her head as her upper body collapsed on the examination table while her legs dangled awkwardly to the side. Everything went dark.

“Yolanda!” Beth exclaimed in concern as she watched her friend pass out. Rick immediately shifted Yolanda’s legs onto the table to put her in a more comfortable position, filled with worry.

“Don’t worry, passing out is normal when drawing blood, especially when you don’t drink anything beforehand,” Dr. Smith said. “She should wake up in a few minutes.” Dr. Smith heard someone call her name, and turned to Beth and Rick apologetically. “I’m sorry, I have to check on another patient. Just make sure she drinks some water or soda and eats something. Feel free to leave whenever you’re ready.”

Beth nodded. “Okay, thank you.” She watched as Dr. Smith left the room and walked toward Yolanda, holding her hand soothingly.

“I’ll refill this with more water,” Rick told Beth before leaving. 

  
“Come on, Yolanda, wake up…” Beth said softly, rubbing her thumb across Yolanda’s hand. Rick returned quickly with a filled cup.

“Have you ever passed out after giving blood?” Rick asked her quietly.

Beth nodded. “Yeah, once. Have you?”

Rick shook his head. “No. What did it feel like?” He asked curiously, wanting to know how Yolanda and Beth felt. When he saw Yolanda pass out like that, he was filled with worry. He didn’t know it was possible to feel like that.

Beth sighed. “For me, it started with dark spots in my vision that kept getting worse and worse. Then I felt dizzy and it was really hard to focus. When the doctor was finished drawing my blood, I fainted. I woke up a few minutes later and ate some chips my mom got for me from a vending machine and drank some water. I felt better after that.”

Rick nodded. “That seems scary.” Watching that happen to Yolanda, knowing there wasn’t anything he could do about it was scary to Rick. Knowing it happened to Beth too was also concerning. Logically, Rick knew that it was common for people to pass out after giving blood, but that didn’t stop the worry from bubbling in him.

“Yeah, I guess it was, I never thought of it as scary,” Beth said thoughtfully. “I just forgot to drink any water before going to the doctor that day, Yolanda probably did the same.”

After a few moments of silence, Yolanda stirred and her eyes fluttered open. She found herself lying down on the table. “What happened?”

Rick handed her the cup of water after Beth helped Yolanda sit up. “You passed out,” the boy said.

Yolanda drank the contents of the cup. “Oh, wow, I’ve never passed out before.”

“How do you feel now?” Beth asked in concern.

“A bit better. Can we leave now?” Yolanda asked, getting off the table. She was starving.

“Yeah, let’s go grab some breakfast,” Beth replied. “You have to eat something.”

Yolanda nodded. “Okay, let’s go.” 

Rick and Beth stayed close to Yolanda as they exited the doctor’s office and walked to the nearest cafe. As they were walking, Yolanda said “I’m really glad you two came with me.”

“Of course,” Beth smiled.

“Anytime.”

Once again, Yolanda was glad that she had Beth and Rick in her life, and would forever be grateful for that day in the cafeteria.


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Something is off with Rick. Beth and Yolanda investigate.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Mentions child abuse.

“Hey, Rick!” Beth greeted with a bright smile as she and Yolanda walked up to Rick’s locker. “What happened last night? You hung up so abruptly, is everything okay?”

Rick looked at his two friends and lied. “Yeah, sorry about that, I forgot I had to do something.”

“Oh, okay, no worries!” Beth smiled, before her eyes turned concerned. “Are you okay?”

“Yeah, I’m fine,” Rick said in a steady tone.

“You sure?” Yolanda asked. “You don’t look well.”

“Yes, I’m sure,” Rick said sharply, closing his locker. “I’ll see you later.” Before either girl could say a word, the boy stormed off.

“Okay, something is definitely wrong,” Yolanda noted. “Something is up with him.”

Beth nodded. “Definitely. But what could it be?”

“Hmmm, you said he hung up abruptly last night right?” Yolanda asked.

“Yeah, he did.” Beth thought back to her phone call with Rick last night. “Now that I think about it, I heard something break. Like...glass, I think? And then Rick hung up.”

The bell rang, signaling that first period has started. 

“Damn,” Yolanda swore. “Do you wanna skip first period so we can figure out what’s going on with Rick?”

“Yeah, definitely. But where can we go where we won’t get caught?”

“The bathroom,” Yolanda said obviously, looping her arm through Beth’s as they walked to the nearest girl’s bathroom. Once there, Yolanda perched herself on the sink counter, followed by Beth. 

“Have you skipped class before?” Beth asked curiously.

“Yeah, who hasn’t?”

“Me.”

“Oh yeah… I guess I’m corrupting you,” Yolanda teased. Beth laughed with her before they both sobered up. “Okay, so Rick. What do we know about his home life?”

Beth shrugged. “He lives with his dad on the outskirts of town. He walks to school everyday and he’s currently fixing a car of his own. That’s it, we don’t know much,” Beth realized. “We don’t even know his dad’s  _ name _ .”

“Oh my god, something is definitely going on at home. Rick told us less than the bare minimum about his home life, that’s a classic sign that something is wrong.” Yolanda said, concern and panic laced in her voice. 

“So what should we do? You saw how he reacted when we kept asking him if he was okay, he’s not going to tell us anything,” Beth acknowledged sadly. Rick built strong walls around himself, and sometimes it feels like she and Yolanda weren’t strong enough to break them down.

Yolanda thought for a moment. “As much as I want to, we can’t keep asking him if he’s okay, since he’ll get more and more agitated with us…”

“And he’ll probably stop talking to us altogether,” Beth finished with a pang. “But he wouldn’t ignore us completely, though, right?”

“I don’t think so… I hope not,” Yolanda admitted. She didn’t want to lose Rick. “How about we keep an eye on him as much as we can throughout the day?”

“I can do that! But what about when school ends?” Beth inquired. 

Yolanda hesitated. “Maybe we can… follow him home?”

Beth’s eyes widened. “Won’t he notice us?” She wasn’t opposed to the plan, but there was a good chance they would get caught.

Yolanda admitted that Beth made a valid point. “We’ll be sneaky?” She tried. It wasn’t her best response, but she didn’t have any other ideas at the moment.

It wasn’t the best plan. It could blow up in their faces. But, Beth really wanted to help Rick. So, she agreed. “Okay. I’m in.”

Yolanda grinned. “Great! So we still have half an hour left, we can’t just show up to class this late…”

Beth thought for a moment. “Well, Rich lives on the outskirts of town, right? Let’s try and see if we can find any shortcuts we can take and hide on if Rick notices us?”

“You’re a genius, Beth! God, I wish I had my phone…” Yolanda groaned as Beth pulled hers out.

“I told you, you’re always welcome to use mine,” Beth reminded her as she pulled up a map of Blue Valley.

“I know, but I still miss my own.”

Beth zoomed in on a trail that led to the outskirts of town. “Maybe you can buy a burner phone?”

“Hmmm, that’s not a bad idea. I do have some cash stashed away,” Yolanda said thoughtfully. She may not be able to use the internet without a data plan, but she would still be able to make phone calls and text her friends.

“Yeah, we’ll be able to talk more,” Beth glanced up and smiled at her friend before returning her attention to her phone. “Okay, I can’t see any shortcuts, but this part has a lot of trees, so we’ll be able to hide and follow him.”

Yolanda shifted closer to Beth to look at her screen. She moved her finger around to see more of the map. “Okay, so we’ll mainly have to be careful here,” she pointed at a part of town that had a few stores and buildings, “but I guess we can always sneak inside a store or duck behind some cars.”

Beth nodded. “Sounds good to me.” She pushed the side button of her phone, making the screen go dark. “I hope we can help Rick.”

“Me, too. You’ve known him longer than I have, did he ever act differently?” Yolanda asked curiously.

Beth thought for a few moments. She and Rick weren’t friends before, but they still ate lunch together. He usually stayed silent during the entire lunch period, no matter how much she spoke. He never snapped at her, but once in a while, he would get up and leave angrily. “Yeah, actually, he has,” Beth relayed her thoughts to Yolanda.

“So this definitely isn’t a one time thing,” Yolanda realized.

Beth sighed. She felt guilty, all this time Rick was going through something and she never realized. “I should’ve realized…”

“No, Beth,” Yolanda cut her off. “You couldn’t have known. None of us were friends with him then, and he didn’t talk to anyone. There’s nothing we could’ve done then, but we can do something now, and that’s what matters.”

Beth smiled and rested her head on Yolanda’s shoulder. “You’re right… Also, I can’t believe I’m skipping class right now.”

Yolanda laughed. “It’s high school, you have to skip class at least once.”

Beth giggled. “I guess. I doubt anyone will notice that we both skipped class.”

“Yeah, you’re right.”

The two girls continued chatting until the bell rang and they went their separate ways.

~~~~~

“So,” Rick started as he plopped into his chair in the cafeteria. “I overheard some other students talking about how the two of you skipped first period earlier?”

Yolanda groaned. “Seriously? We thought no one would notice!” Why would anyone notice that she and Beth both skipped class? And why would they talk about it? What was wrong with this school?

“Why did you skip class?” Rick asked curiously. “Did something happen? Did Henry try something? If he did, I swear to god-”

“No, no,” Beth said quickly. She couldn’t tell Rick that she and Yolanda skipped class to create a plan to follow him home and figure out what was going on with him, so she had to lie. Beth hated lying, but she had to. “I got a killer headache after you left your locker. Yolanda walked me to the nurse’s office so I could lay down and she stayed with me.”

Yolanda was impressed at Beth’s quick thinking. It wasn’t surprising though, Beth was super smart on her own. “Yeah, that’s all.”

Rick’s eyes were filled with concern. “Are you okay now?”

Beth nodded and smiled. “Yeah, I’m fine. Thanks.”

“You could’ve texted me, I would’ve come,” Rick offered. Did they choose not to tell him because he snapped at them this morning? He actually had a good thing going for once, did he really just screw it all up because of his own issues?

Beth waved it off. “I didn’t want you to worry. I tried to get Yolanda to leave to go to class so she wouldn’t get in trouble, but she didn’t budge at all. Plus I didn’t want you to get into any trouble for skipping class, either.”

“I don’t mind getting in trouble, I would rather sit with you if you weren’t feeling well,” Rick said softly.

Beth smiled, touched at Rick’s words. “Aww, you are such a softie!”

Rick groaned while Yolanda laughed. “You really do love us,” Yolanda teased.

Rick rolled his eyes but secretly felt relieved. His actions this morning didn’t push the girls away at all, in fact, they seemed to be over it. Rick meant what he said, though; he’s fine getting in trouble if it means being there for his two friends. He also made a mental note to be more careful and not snap at the girls, especially Beth, since he didn’t want to cause her to have another headache.

“No comment,” Rick said curtly.

“You didn’t deny it,” Yolanda pointed out with a grin.

“Don’t worry, Rick,” Beth began. “We love you too!” When she saw a small smile on Rick’s face, she gasped dramatically. “Is that a  _ smile _ ?”

“It is!” Yolanda exclaimed.

“You two are going to be the death of me,” Rick grumbled, prompting a laugh from Beth and Yolanda.

Their lunch period continued without a hitch, the incident of Beth and Yolanda skipping class long forgotten, until Yolanda dropped her books and Rick knelt down to pick them up.

“Thanks!” Yolanda accepted her books. Rick’s jacket had rolled up a bit, and it took everything Yolanda had not to gasp at the dark blue bruise creeping out from under the sleeve.

“See you,” was all Rick said before he left the cafeteria.

“Did you see that?” Yolanda hissed quietly. “He had a fresh bruise on his arm!”

Beth’s eyes widened. The glass breaking, Rick being more irritable than usual, and now the bruise? “Yolanda, do you think…” Beth couldn’t even bring herself to say the words. 

Yolanda gulped. “I… I don’t know. I hope not… But…”

“The signs are all there,” Beth finished solemnly. Was Rick being abused at home?

“Okay, we definitely have to get to the bottom of this,” Yolanda said firmly, Beth nodding in agreement. 

They had to help their best friend.

~~~~~

“See you two tomorrow,” Rick said goodbye to Beth and Yolanda as he left on his trek home. After he moved out of earshot, Yolanda turned to Beth.

“Okay, let’s go… now!”

The two girls followed Rick, making sure to keep a good amount of distance from him while keeping him in their sights. They kept close to cars and buildings in order to easily hide if Rick caught on that he was being followed. The duo were doing a decent job, ducking behind cars and staying out of sight. Once Rick got on the road that was surrounded by trees on either side, Yolanda quickly grabbed Beth’s hand and pulled her into the trees to stay hidden.

The two girls walked slowly and quietly, careful not to step on any stray branches that could break and attract Rick’s attention to them. They watched Rick stop in front of a large tree and stare at it as if it had taken something he loved from him. After a few moments, Rick sighed and continued on his journey home.

“What was that about?” Yolanda whispered to Beth, who merely shrugged in response. 

They continued following Rick until they watched him approach his house. Once there, they saw an older man waiting for him.

“Who is that? His dad?” Beth whispered.

“I think so?” Yolanda responded, unsure. She watched as the older man yell something at Rick, who stood his ground. Rick shouted something back, which made the other man angry. The older man violently grabbed Rick, causing both girls to gasp. They watched as Rick was pushed into one of the wooden columns of his house. 

The older man shouted something at Rick before getting into his car and driving away. Beth and Yolanda hid behind some trees to avoid being spotted.

“Oh my god!” Yolanda cried out. 

“I can’t believe that Rick’s been dealing with that for so many years…” Beth felt like she was about to cry. “How could someone do that to their kid? My parents aren’t really around that much anymore, but they would never do that to me.”

Yolanda nodded, wiping her eyes. “My parents may not acknowledge me, but they never, ever raised a hand to me… What should we do?”

“Check in on Rick?” Beth suggested. “I don’t care if he gets mad at us for following him, we have to help him.”

Yolanda nodded. “Agreed.” 

The two girls waited until Rick walked toward a yellow car, presumably the one he was working on. Beth and Yolanda emerged from the trees and quietly approached Rick, who opened the front hood of his car and was currently trying to fix something.

“Rick,” Beth said softly. 

Rick jumped at Beth’s voice and turned around wildly. “Beth? Yolanda? What are you doing here? How did you even know where I lived?”

“We were worried about you and we decided to follow you home,” Yolanda admitted. “Why didn’t you tell us about your dad? About how he… hurts you?”

“Rick, we just want to help you,” Beth pleaded. 

Rick didn’t know what he was feeling exactly. Anger, shame, sadness, desperation… and touched that his friends cared enough to follow him out here. He sighed, he had to tell the truth to someone, why not his only two friends? “He’s not my dad...he’s my Uncle Matt. My real name isn’t Rick Harris, it’s Rick Tyler.”

Beth and Yolanda were both shocked. That was a hell of a secret.

“I don’t understand, why did you change your name?” Beth asked.

“When I was a kid, my parents had to leave. They were in a rush. I didn’t understand what was going on, but they left the house to Matt, and changed my last name to Harris. They told him to pretend like I was his son. My parents drove away and they hit a tree and they died,” Rick finished, looking down so the girls wouldn’t see the anger and pain in his eyes at the reminder of his parents. He was broken out of his feelings and thoughts when his best friends launched themselves at him, hugging him.

“We’re so sorry, Rick,” Beth said softly, squeezing the taller boy. Rick clinged to Beth and Yolanda, tears streaming down his face. The trio stayed like that for a few minutes before breaking apart. They all wiped the tears off their faces.

“Rick, you can’t stay here,” Yolanda said softly. “Not when your uncle hurts you.”

Rick sighed. “I don’t have a choice. And besides, he doesn’t always do that, only when I provoke him or when he’s in a terrible mood.”

“That’s not okay!” Beth insisted.

“I’m fine with coexisting with him for a few more years,” Rick said firmly. Where would he go even if he did file a report with the police? Chances are, he would have to move to another town, and he didn’t want to do that. As much as he disliked Blue Valley, it was the only reminder he had of his parents. Plus, he didn’t want to leave his best friends. “This house and this town is all I have of my parents. I can’t lose that.”

Beth and Yolanda glanced at each other, knowing that they couldn’t argue with Rick on this.

“Okay,” Beth relented. “But whenever your uncle gets in one of his moods, I want you to come and stay with me, okay?”

“Beth, no-”

“I mean it! Just call me or text me and I can let you in. At least you’ll be safe,” Beth was not going to give up on this.

Rick sighed and looked at his very determined best friend. “Okay, I will.”

“Promise?”

“Yes, Beth, I promise that when things get bad, I’ll come stay with you,” Rick promised, touched that Beth would let him crash at her place.

“So you’ll stay over tonight?” Beth asked, hopeful.

Rick hesitated and then saw the determined glint in Beth’s and Yolanda’s eyes. “Yes, I will.”

Beth smiled at Rick, whose lips upturned as well. “Great!” She turned to Yolanda. “Do you want to stay over tonight, too?”

Yolanda considered it for a moment. “Yeah, I do. Aren’t your parents going to notice that you snuck in two people though?”

Beth shook her head. “No, my mom is working the late shift, and my dad is out of town.”

Yolanda nodded before returning her attention to Rick. “And you’ll come, right?” She asked, double checking.

“I’m pretty sure if I don’t, the two of you will come back here and drag me to Beth’s, so yes, I’ll come,” Rick deadpanned, making the girls smile. 

“There’s the grumpy Rick we know and love,” Yolanda proclaimed with a smile. “Hey, can I punch your uncle? Kick him?”

“As much as I would love to see that, that’s probably not the best idea, he’ll just take it out on me,” Rick said regrettably, prompting Beth to give him another hug.

“Well, we’ll always have your back,” Beth said, feeling Rick’s arms encircle her waist. 

“Always,” Yolanda agreed, joining the hug. “Two group hugs, minutes apart. I could get used to this.”

“You two really like ruining my reputation, don’t you?” Rick asked, exasperated as the three broke apart.

“Yeah.”

“Pretty much.”

Rick sighed, running a hand through his hair. “Thank you two, seriously…”

“Of course, Rick, you’re our best friend,” Yolanda said earnestly. 

Beth nodded. “Yeah, we’ll always be here for you. Come on, let’s get some ice on those bruises,” Beth gently took Rick by the hand and led him inside. Yolanda found the kitchen and put some ice in a towel and brought it to Rick, who settled onto a couch with Beth. Yolanda handed the ice to Beth who pressed it to Rick’s exposed bruise on his arm.

“I could do this myself, you know,” Rick reminded his friends, but accepting their help nonetheless.

“We know, but it’s better with your friends,” Beth noted with a smile.

Rick couldn’t help but smile back at Beth, her warm smile was infectious even during a painful moment. “That goes both ways too. I meant what I said earlier, if you’re not feeling well, let me know and I’ll be there for you.”

Beth and Yolanda froze. The two girls exchanged a look and silently decided to tell Rick the truth.

“That’s really sweet, Rick, but… I lied,” Beth admitted sheepishly.

Rick looked at her, confused. “Lied about what?”

“I didn’t have a headache. We were never at the nurse’s office. We skipped class so we could plan to follow you home.” Beth explained.

“You two skipped class, just so you could decide to follow me home? And that took what, a minute?”

“Technically, we also looked up a map of Blue Valley so we could find good places to hide in case you realized we were following you,” Yolanda supplied helpfully.

Rick chuckled and shook his head. “You two are something else, I swear….” He was truly touched that his friends went to such lengths for him. “Wait, Beth,  _ you _ skipped class for a non medical reason?!”

Beth rolled her eyes. “Yes, I did. Like Yolanda said, everyone should skip class at least once.”

“We’re bad influences on you,” Rick noted.

“Or maybe I’m a good influence on you!” Beth said cheerfully.

Rick rolled his eyes good-naturedly, clearly not admitting that Beth was right. He still didn’t know what he did to deserve two friends like Beth and Yolanda, but he wasn’t going to let them go. 


End file.
